Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Iranian television's altering of Michelle Obama provides a frightening visual of what happens when religious zealots or right wing fundamentalists, in this case Islamists, have power.

Certainly they, or anyone else, are entitled to hold their view of what is proper, even if others regard that view as being archaic or repressive. However, it is the dishonesty and distortion of reality I find repugnant and evil. It would have been more honest to simply insert a large black spot over her exposed skin than to fabricate a gown. Both are stupid, but at least the one measure is honest, as if to say, as your moral guardians and police we have determined that to protect, we will not permit you to see reality.

American networks use a beep tone when they bleep what someone considers to be offensive language. That action and motivation is another discussion sometime, but for today it is enough to know the heavy handedness is at least played out in an honest fashion. It is a modest nod to notions of honesty, though censorship of any sort is the work of tyrants.

A CASE FOR THE COURT

Are you watching the Supreme Court's action on whether police can take DNA samples?

Justice Alito says it is the "most important procedural case in decades."

While noting its efficacy in solving cases Justice Scalia compares it to "unreasonable search."

Justice Ginsberg worries about the 4th Amendment which prevents unreasonable searches and seizures and requires judicial warrants and basis of probable cause.

The preliminaries on the DNA case strikes me as an irony, coming at a time when the court ruled 5-4 to not permit challenges to the Federal Government's expanding power to monitor your international phone calls and emails.

It is part of the expansion of tools to fight terrorism and comes with less candor on government policies and powers, less access to those records and no challenge to the underpinning laws.

FEBRUARY GREEN

Hope these images bolster those of you caught in winter's icy or snowy grip. Spring has begun on the west coast. She'll head your way soon.

Monday, February 25, 2013

Did you hear that loud sigh? Caterers, hair stylists, make up people, limo drivers, clothing designers, traffic cops, security people, hospitality employees and who knows how many more can take a deep breath now. The show is over. I suspect talent agency offices, production companies, managers, publicists, journalists, craft and guild people and actors all have a lot of open space on their calendars for these first few days after the big show. Except for those who maybe hustling new deals. And executives who study the ratings and the performance of the show.

Seth McFarlane is one of those multi talented people and he found moments to shine last night. Some of the writers however did not. I felt sorry for a few of the presenters, who in the early portions of the long show, had to deliver lines that simply were bad or did not work. The production numbers and the award presenters without gags, those with class and even dignity, were, to my taste, the best.

AN BAD OMISSION

Count me as one who thinks Andy Griffith should have been in the memorial tribute. True most people know him from television but his performance in A Face in the Crowd is one for the hall of fame and at least he deserved a memory.

BIG CONTROVERSY IN WINE COUNTRY

Many acres of the far west side region of the Paso Robles appellation are striped by new plantings.

In some areas the crops extend as far you can see.

Not everyone is pleased and a big name player is involved.

Justin Wines, whose Isosceles is considered one of the world's premier wines, is under new ownership. Justin Baldwin who mentored the winery to an august reputation that drew an estimated 50 thousand visitors a year, sold the operation to Lynda and Stewart Resnick. The Resnicks are marketing wizards. Their FIJI Water, Pom Wonderful and Paramount Farms are international brands and the Resnicks appear on a track to take Justin to a "new level." Justin has a new winemaker, Scott Shirley who comes from Napa Valley where large operations are the norm. The Paso region, which for decades has provided grapes to large Napa wineries, has emerged as California's darling wine region because of the artistry, science, passion and skill of owner operators, small boutique and mom&pop wineries and the kind of personal touch and contact missing in Napa Valley. The Resnicks appear to be planning an increase in volume of production. Most of Paso's high volume wine makers are on the east side or east of Paso Robles and the 101. It is a delicate thing to maintain the quality while increasing quantity. While that is true for any business, it is especially so in wine making. So lovers of Paso wines and its reputation for being accessible, friendly and less corporate are keeping an eye on Justin. The mass plantings have annoyed some who worry about a loss of Oak trees and the increased demand on water, at least in the early life of the vines. Something you hear repeatedly from Bay Area or northern California visitors to the Paso Robles region is how amazed they are you can often speak with the wine maker, or that wine tasting room people are experts, friendly and add to the social value of the visit. Even though Justin was considered a "high end" winery, the same was true there. We trust that while increasing plantings and vastly remodeling the Justin environs, they will maintain the Paso attitude and ethos. Stay tuned. See you down the trail.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Nope. No predictions here. There's enough of that from other sources. I'm pleased to have seen most of the nominated performances and am convinced there is some extraordinary talent working on both sides of the camera in this era.

There is a longing though. Johnny Carson's hosting kindles memories of a good era. And Billy Crystal's work was some of the most inventive and sensational.

I still like to fantasize what it must have been like to be in the Hollywood crowd in the 30's and 40's when personality more than corporate seemed to be the power behind the studios and silver screen. It hangs in my mind as a time of icons.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

There they are every night, shinning, twinkling and teasing. Thousands and thousands, millions with a good scope, before our eyes, and each holding a mystery. Origin? Composition? Status? We theorize. But as for hard certain data, our knowledge is limited. There is more we don't know about the stars, the space between them and their life cycles, than what we know.

Like some of you, it is hard to understand how we can live daily, beneath this arc of mystery, in this cosmic neighborhood and be so unconcerned about our neighbors.

The program of the Mars rovers, and the deep space exploration of programs like Voyager, Hubble, Herschel, Galex, Cassini-Huygens, Dawn, Chips, Epox1 are exciting and critical to our future.

Of course funding is limited by perceived priority, needs and political will. It is great that visionaries like Richard Branson and Elon Musk are bringing an entrepreneurial spirit to space exploration, but it is still extraordinarily little, given the vastness of what we humans don't know.

It seems silly, no, primitive that we bipeds who share the resources of this blue planet spend billions and billions on how to whack each other on the head than we share to understand the rest of the neighborhood just over our heads. Pitted against the mystery of the cosmos we are more alike than different. And whether fundamentalist Muslim, Evangelical Christian, oligarch, naked indigenous child in the wild, military commander, skateboarding teen, or whatever our persona or place, we are subject to the same forces and changes in nature.

The Asteroid fly by last week, the unexpected meteor and meteorite strike in Russia, and the history of planetary change because of previous cosmic collisions remind us we share this spaceship earth.

It seems that with even a moment of thought a wiser course is to pool our knowledge and riches and work together as planetary citizens. Kind of hard to do when my God is right and yours is wrong, when my nation is more powerful than yours, when I have more than you, when you are trying to take what belongs to him, and on and on. On second thought those are distractions and divisions that might be surmounted if we understood that despite all pretense, we really are all the same-planetary citizens. We face the same fate and after all we share the same stoop here in the milky way galaxy, which out in the sticks of the cosmic neighborhood.

Charles and Ray Duncan say they are "doing what they can to make giving a damn cool again."

Father and daughter credibly empower that idea. They give a damn-their own lyrics and those of Woody Guthrie and others, are sung and played with a unique harmony, warmth and power. And the music is cool-poignant, moving and with an edge. The artists are also cool.

Lana, Katherine and I were fortunate to be among about 15 people in a house concert last night, as they tune up for the frenetic pace of the Folk Alliance International gathering.

Acoustic Music Scene details the scope of this summit of artists, agents, bookers, producers, record labels, djs, and musicians.

A guitar player and song writer who's been to the Folk Alliance said, at the break last night, the Ranchers have a unique sound.

Sample them for yourself

It's a particular joy to see village neighbors display such talent. Ray's mother Jude Johnstone is a favorite and her cd is in "heavy rotation" on our play list.

Lana remembers seeing a young Rachel, with teddy bear, in tow with her sister talented actress Emma Duncanat Lilly's coffee deck just a few years ago. Now the young woman has charisma and a great attitude for the songs of social justice and hope.

Charles is an accomplished player of guitar and harmonica and brings a seasoned mellow and gentleness to Ranchers. Their songs have a way of staying with you.

Charles told of opening recently in Bakersfield for revered master player John McCutcheonwho has released 34 albums. When Ranchers came off stage he said McCutcheon told them how much he liked their music. McCutcheon said he noticed they too played the Woodie Guthrie classic "Deportee." The song recounts a plane crash near Los Gatos. It had been bound for an emigration deportation station and carried 28 Mexican workers. Guthrie's lyrics make mention of how the dead were referred to only as "deportees."

"...you wont have names when you ride the big airplane

All they will call you will be "deportees"

McCutcheon told of going to the Sacred Heart Cemetery in Fresno and seeing a stone covering a mass grave that said "deportees." It was there he met a young man named Carlos who had done the research, learned the names and is making sure they will be added to the stone.

As they did in Bakersfield with McCutcheon, Ranchers for Peace read the names of each of the "deportees" last night. I think Woody Guthrie would like the edit to his song by a California father and daughter who are doing what they can to make giving a damn cool again.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Both daughters tell us the sound of basketball sneakers on hardwood, the din of the cheering fans and pep bands and the tones of announcers recall their childhood weekends. Usually a chili or stew simmered a delicious appeal into the mood, completing the sensory recording of a winter's afternoon.

The girls live elsewhere, but some things don't change.Even with our address only a mile or so from the Pacific, the magic of a Big Ten Rivalry captivates us. Where I used to have half time or post game chats with dad, or after he passed, with my mom, a real fan to the end, now I'm frequently on with my dear friend Frank, from Falls Church Va.- by way of Indianapolis basketball courts. Lana and I met at Ball State and we are fans and supporters of our Alma Mater BSU Cardinals-"the fiercest bird in the robin class" as our old friend Dave Letterman says. Still, we have jointly been IU fans, at least as long as our marriage. And I grew up where IU basketball was a religious experience. I've been a fan since I learned to dribble, but I've always had a chunk of heart dedicated to the Butler Bulldogs, because of the legendary Tony Hinkle and some of their incredible small school big achievements and tenacious brand of basketball. We used to book spring vacation travel plans around the IU, Ball State, or Butler NCAA tourney schedule. Usually it was the IU game we had to catch at an airport, or on a car radio or not fly that day.

I've even spent decades watching John Mellencamp become an old man of rock as he and a succession of beautiful women and/or wives take their special seats in Assembly Hall.

The best places to watch basketball in Indiana are at the new arena at Ball State, the Bankers Life Field House in Indianapolis and the blue print for all great basketball palaces, the Hinkle Field House at Butler University. While IU's Assembly Hall is a terrible venue to see a game, unless you have near the court seats, the spirit, energy and enthusiasm is one of the best to experience.

It's hard for non mid-west or basketball loving people to get this, but there is a soul calming, almost meditative peace in watching Big Ten or NCAA college hoops. A couple of California friends talk about baseball with the same reverence. Something magic about a good game on TV. My dad extended that to golf, and I get that too.

The nostalgic memories of my dad, brothers, mom and later my daughters in that mix of familiar sounds and pleasing aromas are a magic at work.

SPEAKING OF MAGIC

AND GOLF

Thanks to my golf loving fraternity brother Brian for finding this incredible video of the week.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

The Associated Press and the Sacramento Bee report the fall of a food industry tycoon and one of America's super rich.

Frederick Salyer was one of the most influential and powerful men in the agriculture industry, but is headed to prison, convicted of price fixing and lying to consumers about the quality of his tomato products.

US Attorney Benjamin Wagoner says, "This is a tremendous fall from power. He was one of the richest and most influential..."

Salyer was accused of bribing buyers for companies such as Kraft Foods and Frito Lay to pay inflated prices for his products which were then passed along to consumers.

Federal Prosecutors say Salyer told his workers at SK Foods to lie about the quality of his product, the mold content and whether the product was organic. Government records say moldy tomatoes were processed into paste, pasta sauce and salsa.

Salyer's tomato farming-canning empire dominated 14% of the market. The AP says Salyer is from one of the West's oldest land and farming dynasties, going back generations.

The government found that Salyer and co-conspirators manipulated the price and quality of millions of pounds of tomatoes, paying bribes of up to $100 thousand.

Government records indicate Salyer tried to move some of his fortune to Andorra, a small nation between Spain and France. He made a down payment on a condo there. He is under house arrest at his Pebble Beach mansion. The wealthy captain of industry has been sentenced to six years.

I wonder if he'll eat the prison tomato sauce. I also wonder if Banking and Wall Street regulators or US attorneys have the same verve as the team that brought down Salyer. US Attorney Wagoner says he hopes the conviction will send a message to the agriculture industry to keep fraud out. Fraud-Investment banking? Hey, Mr. Attorney General Holder, are you listening?

CALIFORNIA ODDS AND ENDS

This beauty graced Main Street in Cambria's West Village.

Wasn't the original color either black or green? What do you think of this upgrade?

Sometimes a sun dappled day at a winery is not complete without paella.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Sweet Talk Radio (STR) aka Kate and Tim brought their extraordinary talents back to the central coast and turned out another powerful performance but to an all too small audience at a Paso Robles stage.

The summit pass was freezing, the stars descended like a dome around us and the lingering refrains from this remarkable couple sweetened our drive over the mountains and through the Templeton gap but we were troubled. We are acknowledged fans and their CD's are among our frequently played, so we were miffed that D'Anbino Winery and music room didn't provide the sold out audience as The Painted Sky has done.

"Just one of those nights" Tim said.

A great night for those on hand.

Chances are you've heard them on television shows. Producers and directors hire them to drop in songs for especially dramatic, climactic or poignant moments. Tim is an accomplished player and song writer. His Writing in Pen is a poignant soul stirrer. You fall in love with Kate's voice the moment you hear it. Her tune, My Hallelujah, written after Katrina, will stay with you forever. Her version of Carol King's Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, a hit by the Shirelles, is fantastic. Kate's singing is beautiful, but her ballad style adaptation underscores the honest, though early, feminist power of the tune. Remember that tune was a hit in the early 60's. If STR is in your area, make sure you get there. Check them out here.

THE U.S. AS TORTURER

THE PRESIDENT AS EXECUTIONER

The White House memos related to the President and

the killing of terrorists by drone strike provided some interesting chatter here-a long way from the studios of New York and Washington-but by men with better credentials than the TV pretties and pundits. The following quotes are from friends, so I know their sincerity, which is more than I know of the TV talking heads.

A former Navy Pilot To quote Spock...the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one.....having been subjected to POW simulation during my getting ready to go to Vietnam days; a couple of observations. Torture does work on most people. The instructors who debriefed us on our performance while being water boarded or confined in a little ity bitty black box with few air holes was very pragmatic: Hold on until you can't..then give in and tell them what they want to know....don't die for intel which may have a relative short shelf life. And most important: Don't lie. Usually they are asking some questions they know the answer to. Another reality: You will be tortured...particularly if you are in their land engaged in combat.

This from a national daily retired editor i agree completely... we can lose ourselves in all sorts of arguments about what is war, what is an enemy, etc., but if we are to claim a moral base for what we do--indeed, for what we are-- we shouldn't torture people. it debases us, and it is all too easy to become accustomed to that... does this mean that some American lives possibly could be lost because we didn't waterboard, or send current through the genitals of, or didn't hang from the ceiling of rendition cells, some jihadists? yes. but that is the price of decency as a people and a nation. This from a former MarineI am opposed to enhanced interrogation, water boarding, etc. I think we need to be the moral high ground. If you saw Zero Dark Thirty, giving a prince a Ferrari seemed to be the ticket. That said, I do think effective use of drones is a much improved doctrine of war... As for targeting Americans, that is a bit more of a sticky wicket. It would seem to me that using drones against an American should be with judicial approval just as when the government wants to bypass the citizen's right to privacy with a wiretrap or other surveillance. There is a court of Federal Judges that assure that a judge will be available 24/7 to give approval for those wiretraps... Why not require that the CIA or military or President, prior to launching a drone against an American citizen have to get an ok from that judge? That provides judicial review and forces the government agency to at least provide documentation to an outside source. It has worked very well for wiretap and surveillance so why not use that existing structure for this next level?This from a political consultant and operativeThe over reaction of Bush/Cheney to 911 produced the most reprehensible behavior in the history of international relations for our country. We scrapped the conclusions of the Nuremberg Trials completely. Only the treatment and systematic destruction of the native American Indian culture tops the 911 moral relapse. I believe over the span of its existence, the CIA has been far more of a liability than an asset for our government. While I acknowledge our nation needs to maintain a constant and vigilant stance regarding those forces who are committed to our permanent detriment, we must be guided by a sense of propriety and probity.

The use of drones, while efficient in vanquishing suspected terrorists, have permanently denigrated our nation's standing in the Middle East...

American citizens are entitled to know the circumstances that permit our government to kill them. Anyone that consciously bears arms or conspires against our country's vital interests deserves the same fate of the states and individuals that rebelled in 1861.

This from a retired Navy Intelligence OfficerWar is in fact War. All rules are bent or broken. Ya do what ya gotta do. A late add from a retired Navy Communications Specialist I have a problem condoning the torture of fellow human beings (animals, too). Whether for intel, resources, property, whatever. I understand that there can be short term accomplishments or perhaps some benefits derived from the information, but the mental decision and choice to use torture lowers us to the level of the bad guy we are at war with. Their choices and actions are at least a part of why we consider them "bad" people. It seems to me that if we are at all serious about eliminating our imperfections as humans, and eventually knowing God/becoming Godlike, we have to try to raise the rate of vibration of all of us and the entire earth by trying to project love, and truth and positive values in every way we can. We are not only the creators of the younger generation, we have a responsibility as their teachers, educators, guides and examples. We need to try to improve the human race. We need to contribute our positive energy and example to try to improve the morals and consciousness of humankind. I think we are all part of the same energy pool. Since we do all have free will, we have to learn the effects, ramifications, positives and negatives of interaction that includes torture as part of the mix and make decisions about how we will behave. I can't endorse it.As noted in an earlier post, the film Zero Dark Thirty contributed to the national conversation as well. It is an important matter for Americans to weigh.

FINISHINGS

I heard someone say the power failure at the Super Bowl served as a reminder how this great nation has permitted its infrastructure to fail and fall toward third world status.

Good point, don't you think?

REEL THOUGHTS

THE IMPOSSIBLE

As so many have said, The Impossible is an emotional and powerful experience. Indeed. Great acting by Naomi Watts, Ewan MacGregor and the kids. But I was most impressed by the small side story of people helping others, strangers assisting each other, the little kindnesses that were manifest in the face of the overwhelming tragedy. That is a take-a-way with a life confronting power. And that takes us back to Kate's powerful, My Hallelujah.

Friday, February 8, 2013

As another weekend of winter blasts much of the US, these snaps from the drive and street of our Indiana home, in a winter past, are enough to bring back bad memories and trigger my sympathy to those of you who must endure.

Picturesque though winter may be, driving was always a royal pain. Notice that ice where the tire treads are?

So we continue our exploration of California, but select trips in a time of the year to avoid snow. Maybe some year we'll venture into the Sierra during ski season. Maybe.

Our Weekender video prompts a question this week. How would you like to drive this bridge?" Enjoy.

Hats off to the Norwegian engineers and road builders. See you down the trail.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

"It was just a stupid mistake" Jackson Browne said about not being quoted in a recent piece in the San Luis Obispo Tribune detailing his 1981 involvement and arrest at an anti nuclear protest at Diablo Canyon. "The article made it sound like I've lost interest. That is absolutely not the case" he told an enthusiastic and adoring full house at the Cohan Center on the Cal Poly campus.

Photo by Ken Chen San Luis Obispo Tribune 1981-printed again 3 February 2013

Browne said he would have welcomed the opportunity to tell about his continuing involvement with MUSE and Nukefree.org.

The Tribune pieceincluded an old quote that implied Jackson was no longer an activist on the issue.

it was a victory of sorts that no new nuclear plants had been built in more than 30 years. He acknowledged that some 17 hundred people in the San Luis Obispo area worked at Diablo Canyon, still he said nuclear energy is unsafe and creates continuing problems.

I've seen Browne several times over the years and am always impressed by his lyrical power. He is a marvelous troubadour. As Lana said on the way out of the hall "...his poetry truly captures our age and hearts."

He is also a great performer both as musician and singer.

His work on piano and on several of the almost 20 guitars he had on stage is still that of a virtuoso.

Five large oriental rugs lined the playing area and he alternated between sitting while playing the guitar and the piano. It provided an intimate, house concert feel.

But he also rocked the hall and had a couple of friends who helped blow the place away. Val McCallum was killer on guitar. He also performed his hauntingly rich and textured Tokyo Girl. Taylor Goldsmith of DAWEScontributed mightily on keyboard, guitar and vocals. Browne told the audience that Dawes is his favorite band now and that having Goldsmith play has been a bonus since he was on "a bus man's holiday" waiting for the release of their new album. Goldsmith premiered his new FIRE AWAY and with Browne and McCallum they created a musical charge that electrified the hall. Fire Away will do very well. The house was full of Browne fans and there was a continuing chorus of call outs for tunes. Finally Browne abandoned the set list and moved through a pastiche of his decades of music and the time flew by. There was no opening act and the group took a short break and still ran out of time. Browne thanked the promoter and hall management for permitting them to play overtime. Showtime was 7:30 and we left the hall around 11:00. During the evening he told of being a youngster who'd hitchhike up to the Central Coast. "This is the most beautiful part of California. My dad called it Steinbeck country. Mom would drop us off outside Ventura and we'd start up Highway 1. That's when the fun started." He told about attending a concert a couple of years agoat the Cohan where he was told about a flamenco guitar maker from Nipomo, just south of here. "I've got a couple of his guitars now," he chuckled.Browne has spent a lot of time here and he sprinkled a few of those memories and anecdotes through out the evening. It was apparent to him that he was not only among fans, but with friends and California neighbors as well. Jackson Browne on the Central Coast where spring comes early and memories are continually being made.

The first blooms-oxalis in our green winter.

During the short break I was looking out the angled windows of the modern designed Cohan over looking part of the Cal Poly campus. People around me were in rapture of the music, others were discussing the local wine being sold while I was lost in a reverie of my own early Highway 1 memories. I saw something a little wobbly out of the corner of my eye. I turned to see a young man zipping his way along the bike lane on a unicycle, with a head lamp around his head like a headband.

Monday, February 4, 2013

You wonder how many million Super Bowl viewers had DVR's set to their PBS station while they attended parties or watched the game at home.

Super Bowl fans caring about a Masterpiece Theatre production you say? Absolutely, indeed! It hit me one morning a few weeks ago at our post tennis match coffee at Lilly's coffee deck in Cambria; six or seven guys sitting around talking about a soap opera, the soap opera of course, Downton Abbey. This marvelous production, created and written by Julian Fellowes has captured American hearts.

People who are not usual PBS viewers have discovered how extraordinarily well Brits do television drama. The intricate plot line is the subject of conversations from dinner parties to grocery store check out lines. Conservatives, liberals, young and old have found a fiction upon which they can gather.

An intrigue here is how this period drama of a time of class distinction and way of life has brought, well, a little class to America. Can't you enjoy the image of a football jersey wearing, chicken wing and jalapeno popper stuffed fan clicking away from the post game wrap up to watch the latest from the Grantham clan or Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes presiding over the staff?

Julian Fellowes is seeding something here. It dawns on me the aristocratic excess and the enforced civility of the staff both are under girded by a sense of rule and dignity. The characters know, even if they do not always do, what is expected, what is proper. There is much to say about all of that, but at the very least it is a good thing for an increasingly casual America to see, to be entertained and perhaps even to be influenced, ever so slightly, by people with manners. Mr. Fellowes, you are a PBS radical indeed!!!

Friday, February 1, 2013

As a powerful offense can grind and thrash its way down field, the Super Bowl has, since its inception in 1967, become a dominant day in American culture.

It is the second largest food consumption day in the US, trailing only Thanksgiving.

Super Bowl telecasts are among the most viewed programs in history and now command huge international audiences.

How many million parties could you count?

The fact that brothers Jim and John Harbaugh are coaching this year's contestants, adds another first to an historic American event.

In only 46 years a televised football game has become a defacto national holiday and drives a significant portion of the US economy thanks to advertising, merchandising and promotion. A Super event indeed.

PRE OR POST GAME THRILLS

Don't be surprised if you find yourself grabbing a hold of something, or swaying a bit.